River's Return (River's End Series, #3) Read Online Free Page A

t-shirt with a black, leather vest over it, and dark jeans. His boots were like huge gunboats on his size thirteen or fourteen feet.
    She peeked at him from the corners of her eyes. He was standing on the line between her small kitchen and breakfast nook and her living room. It was dainty, fragile furniture in mostly all white. Her kitchen was also white, but for the splashes of calming blues. He looked just wrong standing there.  There was nothing harsh about her decorating style; and that’s all Shane Rydell was. A big, dark, wild, unconstrained-looking man who was harsh and rough and really didn’t belong in her house.
    She set her wine glass on the counter. At a loss of what to do with him there, she grabbed the bottle from the fridge and asked politely, “Can I get you anything?”
    He spun towards her voice and his green eyes were simply electric. They were big and had long, dark lashes that looked almost feminine if the analogy of anything feminine about Shane Rydell wasn’t so ridiculous. He made everything soft and pretty want to curl up into a small ball before it withered and died. “You got any beer?”
    “No. I just have this wine. Or water. Or milk.”
    His lips twisted up into a smile that seemed like he had some amusing secret he was keeping to himself. “Pop? You don’t even have a can of soda?”
    She arched an eyebrow, trying to show her disdain towards him. “No. I don’t. I didn’t expect to accommodate your tastes last time I shopped.”
    His grin seemed to widen even more at her prissy tone. Dimples. Big dents of dimples flashed on his cheeks as he crossed his arms over his chest. His biceps bunched and strained, his short-sleeved shirt revealing his tan, bulked-up arms bare from his shoulders down. He had tattoos scattered all over them, but didn’t, to her surprise, have full sleeves. She wondered why some spots were tatted up, but others were just bare, tanned skin. “Water. In case you ever think of it, I like beer the best.”
    She gritted her teeth and grabbed a glass before filling it with ice and water. She could feel his gaze on her as she prepared it before handing it to him. “Not bottled?” he asked, his eyebrows sprouting up towards his hairline.
    “I don’t believe in them. I always avoid them if I can help it. Useless and pointless waste of plastic and total land fillers. A glass gets the job done fine.”
    His hand made the eight-ounce glass look like a little thimble. He raised it as if in a toast to her and took a sip. “Real global thinker, huh?”
    More than him, no doubt , but she kept that retort to herself. He turned and started wandering through her living room. The front door opened right into it. It was small and cozy with patterned couches and two chairs that complemented them nicely. A table sat before them and a small, tasteful TV graced the top of an antique dresser she had restored. She cringed as his boots left footprints across the pristine, plush white carpet. She was hoping they were clean.
    He spun around. “Real nice place you got here, teacher,” he said in a kind of lazy tone. He grinned with a small lift at the corners of his mouth.
    Was he mocking her? She really had no idea. “Uh, thanks?” She stepped into the living room from the small eating nook. “It can’t be your style.”
    “Well…nooo. Last I checked, I wouldn’t have bought a floral pillow to decorate my couch, but for you? It’s nice and pretty, just like you. You put a lot of time and energy into it. You seem like you got all your shit together. That’s real admirable.”
    Again, was he mocking her? Or flirting with her? Or was it simply an observation? She didn’t know and her forehead scrunched as she tried to make sense of the big, smiling, yet kind of brutish man standing in middle of her white, blue and yes, floral and candle themed living room. He looked so wrong there. Like taking a small kitten and setting it in someone’s S&M room. Glancing at Shane, she could